The Plan for the Extermination of Romanian Jewry

The plan for the extermination of Romanian
Jewry, written by Gustav Richter, advisor on Jewish policy in the
German embassy in Bucharest and Eichmann's delegate to Romania.

A.General

In his message of 24 February 1942, on the occasion
of the recent celebration of the founding of the Party in Munich, the
Fuehrer countered the joint war aim of Communism and Jewish capitalism
to exterminate the Aryan peoples and persons with the prophecy that
by means of this war not Aryan mankind would be destroyed, but the Jew
would be exterminated. The Fuehrer called the removal of this
parasite the final result. The way toward this end is clear; it
proceeds from the elimination of the Jew from the province of life to
the solution and deportation of the Jew from the Lebensraum. Romania
can consider its Jewish question to be finally solved only after the
last Jew has left the country.

B.Guidelines

The following are the guidelines laid down for the
deportation of the Jews from Romania to the East:

The Office Responsible for Deportation

In order to achieve a well-planned and organizationally
smooth evacuation of the Jews, it is recommended to appoint the Government
Representative for Regulating the Jewish Question in Romania as the
only relevant and responsible authority. In carrying out this operation
the Government Representative will utilize the relevant ministries and
other offices.

II. Regulations Concerning the Categories of Persons
to be Deported

The following are to be deported:

All Jews included on the basis of the decree of 16.12.41
No. 1091 (Census of Jews), with the exception of the categories listed
below;

All Jews who did not register at the Census decreed
on 16.12.41, even if they fall under one of the categories exempted
from deportation;

These Jews have already lost their former nationality
on the basis of expatriation laws passed by those countries.

The following are not to be deported for the time
being:

Mixed marriages;
Jews baptized by 31 December 1941;
Jews of foreign nationality in possession of a valid passport;
Jews essential to the economy who are in possession of a certificate
issued by the President of the Inspection Commission of the Labor Situation
of Jews, with the exception of proprietors or owners of companies; Jewish
physicians, pharmacists, engineers, chemists.

5) Jews,aged 65 and above; aged 60-65 who are particularly
frail and unfit for transportation.
In Jewish marriages where one partner is under 65 and the other over
65, evacuation will be refrained from for the time being; the same applies
to children of these marriages who are under 14 years of age.
In evacuation of families, the separation of spouses as well as the
separation from children up to the age of 14 should be avoided.

6) Jews in possession of the following military decorations:
Virtutea Militara, Barbatie si Credinta with swords, Meritul Sanitar
with swords, Steaua Romaniei with swords;
special merits (members of the Transylania Nationalgarde 1918/1919)

7) Jews employed full-time (president and two members)
in the district branches of the Center for Romanian Jews.

III The Legal Basis

As a legal basis for the deportation it is necessary
to publish, i.e. decree, in the following regulations, i.e. laws, prior
to the deportation operation:

Police regulation of a general travel ban for Jews;
Police regulation forbidding a change of residence;
A law concerning the loss of Romanian nationality with a qualifying
day as a basis and a declaration of the forfeiture of property in favor
of the State of Romania;
A law by the Undersecretary of State of Romanization which decides on
take-over and administration of Jewish property and other Jewish possessions
forfeited to the State of Romania.

IV. Organizational Matters

Transit Camp

In order to avoid the arrival of Jews being evacuated
to the camps in the East in a state of physical exhaustion resulting
from the long journey, it is recommended to set up a transit camp on
the Pascani-Czernowitz line or in the vicinity of Czernowitz, where
the Jews are to remain 1-2 days, after which they will continue being
transported to the East.

In constructing the transit camp the following are
to be considered:

factory grounds not in use, i.e. factory buildings,
barracks, etc. which can be utilized as a transit camp;
a capacity for 3,000 Jews;
provision of a feeding station and of sanitary facilities;
posting of guards.

2. Transport

Each transport is to consist of 2,000 Jews. The German
Railroad supplies the cars (covered freight cars and railway engines)
needed for the transportation for the duration of the deportation. The
appropriate timetables will be drawn up in coordination with the Romanian
State Railroad (CFR).

The Judenzentrale and its area offices can be enlisted for the preparation
and execution of the transports.

Before the transports depart, a search is to be made for weapons, ammunition,
explosives, poison, foreign currency, jewelry, etc.

3. Transport Escort

A suitably equipped escort is to be assigned to every transport train
(military or police, consisting of 1 officer and 20 men). The chief
of the escort is to be supplied with two copies of a list naming the
persons being transported; this is intended for the office taking over
the transport. After the transport has left, two additional lists are
to be presented to the Government Representative for Regulating the
Jewish Question in Romania. In addition to personal data, the transport
list is to include profession.

To ensure that the transports are conducted in an orderly manner a Jewish
management is to be appointed for each transport which, in turn, is
to appoint an orderly for every car. The orderlies, who will wear a
distinctive armband, are to be responsible for the maintenance of quiet
and order during the journey and for cleaning the compartments after
detraining. A Jewish medical attendant, i.e. a medical orderly with
first-aid equipment, is to be allocated to the Jewish transport management.

4. Hand-Over of Transports

The transports are to be handed over at the border railroad station
of Snyatin on the General Government-Romanian border. The transports
will be taken over by the German Ordnungspolizei. The chief of the Commandos
of the Ordnungspolizei is to be handed the transport list mentioned
in Point 3 by the head of the Romanian escort.

V. Financing

All expenditure incurred in the deportation of the
Jews from Romania is to be borne by the Jews in Romania. The Judenzentrale
in Romania with its headquarters in Bucharest is responsible for financing
this project.